Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (Blu-ray) (2015)

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General		Extras
Category	Anime	Featurette-Inside the World of Ghost in the Shell Part 2 (18:53) Featurette-Arise Explained in 25 minutes (26:40) Featurette-25 Years Reviewed in 25 minutes (46:07) Trailer-Promo Video Theatrical Trailer-Textless Opening and Closing Songs Teaser Trailer-40 page colour booklet Trailer-US Trailer Trailer-x 5 for other anime
Rating
Year Of Production	2015
Running Time	99:41
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Hazuchika Hise
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Maaya Sakamoto Elizabeth Maxwell Ikkyu Iyuki John Swasey Kenichirou Matsuda Christopher R Sabat Miyuki Sawashiro Jad Saxton Mayumi Asano Mary Elizabeth McGlynn Takuro Nakakuni Marcus D Stimac
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Cornelius

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, during end credits

     Ghost in the Shell initially appeared in 1989 in a manga written by Masamune Shirow before becoming an industry in its own right with additional manga issues, films, video games, a TV series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, a series of OVAs Ghost in the Shell: Arise and now Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie. This new film follows on from Ghost in the Shell: Arise (or, more correctly, the Arise OVAs reorganised and with additional episodes, the set then broadcast as Ghost in the Shell Arise: Alternate Architecture – see the summary section below) and continues to fill in the back story of the formation of the Shell Squad.

     Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie commences in 2027 with cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi (voiced by Maaya Sakamoto / Elizabeth Maxwell) and her squad, including Batou (Kenichirou Matsuda / Christopher R Sabat), Ishikawa (Tomoyuki Dan / Brandon Potter), sniper Saito (Takuro Nakakuni / Marcus D Stimac) and Togusa (Tarusuke Shingabi / Alex Organ), having been granted independent funding by the PM and no longer under the command of Aramaki (Ikkyu Iyuki / John Swasey), head of Section 9 of the Bureau of Public Safety. They are immediately tasked with ending a hostage situation at a foreign embassy, which they do although things are not quite as they seem. At the same time the Japanese PM is assassinated by a bomb which also kills Motoko’s old boss of Military Unit 501, Lieutenant Colonel Kurutsu (Mayumi Asano / Mary Elizabeth McGlynn). As Motoko and her squad investigate, aided by Section 9 but hindered by Unit 501, they find a trail of false memories, a connection to the super hacker called Fire-starter and a link to Motoko’s parents from 20 years previously.

     Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie does start with some brief exposition scenes before diving into the action but those not familiar with the diverse Ghost in the Shell universe would have a problem working out what is going on and who is who. The plotting of Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie is also very dense featuring opposing government bodies, various corporations, hidden agendas, false memories and betrayals while themes include artificial intelligence, technology and the implications of obsolescence, ethics and “ghosts” as well as greed and the pursuit of profits. This is quite heavy going in places but never less than thoughtful although one can, alternatively, just skip over the explanations and the technology and watch Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie for the action and the beautifully drawn animation.

     Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie is not one to begin your acquaintance with the complex world of Ghost. Fans however, will enjoy the action as well as the information about the background and abilities of one of the most interesting female creations in anime: cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi.

Video

     Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the original ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     This is stunning anime. The drawings result in clean, strong and detailed images. The visuals differ greatly to give impact to the various environments; some scenes, especially those in the orphanage, have soft pastel colours, inside the ghost can be very bright, action sequences have vivid reds and yellows. Blacks are solid.

     I did not notice any marks or artefacts.

     It is anime so lip synchronisation is approximate in either audio track.

     The English subtitles are in American English in a clear white font. The subtitles are burnt in when the Japanese dub is selected so cannot be removed for Japanese speakers. I did not notice any spelling or grammatical errors.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Audio is a choice of Japanese or English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, so both have the same specifications, unlike some anime.

     Effects such as gunshots were crisp and nicely differentiated while there was music, engines, gunshots and general ambience in the rears. The sub-woofer added appropriate bass to the music and explosions.

     The English voice cast was not too bad but I still prefer the original Japanese audio. In both the dialogue was clear and easy to hear.

     The electronic score by Cornelius is eccentric but effective.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     There are some great extras.

Inside the World of Ghost in the Shell Part 2 (18:53)

     Part one of this featurette was on the Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part 2 Blu-ray. This Part 2 continues the look at the implications of the advanced technology in Ghost in the Shell with footage from the anime and the thoughts of US ADR director Zach Bolton and US voice cast members Elizabeth Maxwell, John Swasey, Brandon Potter, Alex Organ and Christopher R Sabat. Thoughtful and interesting.

Arise Explained in 25 minutes (26:40)

     Officially termed the “Extended Director’s Cut” this is really an extended promotion for the new movie with a narration and footage anchored by general director and character designer of the Arise series, Kazuchika Kise, screenwriter Tow Ubukata and Maaya Sakamoto (the voice of Motoko) sitting together and discussing things including rearranging the Arise Border episodes for TV, their favourite scenes, iconic Ghost lines, casting and character design. Also included is a useful 4 minute summary of the four Arise Borders and an interview with Kenjiro Tsuda, the voice of the character Pyromaniac who features in an additional Arise episode called Pyrophoric Cult.

25 Years Reviewed in 25 minutes (46:07)

     Actually running over 46 minutes, this is also termed the “Extended Director’s Cut” and is a fascinating look at the world of Ghost including the manga, the original animated film Ghost in the Shell (1995), the TV series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002), the film Innocence (2004), OVAs Ghost in the Shell: Arise (2013) and Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie in 2015. It focuses heavily on the developments and changes to the character of Motoko with original manga, anime footage and interviews with Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (President of Production I.G), the directors of all the various Ghost incarnations Mamoru Oshii, Kenji Kamiyama, Kazuchika Kise and Kazuya Nomura, screenwriter Tow Ubukata and various voice actors from the Arise cast. Great.

Promo Video (2:06)

     A trailer.

Theatrical Trailer (1:07)

Teaser (0:33)

     As it says.

US Trailer (1:48)

     The US trailer for the Blu-ray and DVD release.

Trailers

     Trailers for Eden of the East (1:02), Tokyo ESP (0:49), Terror in Resonance (2:03), Noein (1:13) and Black Butler: Book of Circus (1:40).

     Our release of Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie is basically identical to the versions available elsewhere.

     It seems that when The Ghost in the Shell: Arise aired on Japanese TV under the title Ghost in the Shell Arise: Alternative Architecture two new episodes were added to the broadcast to tie that series more closely into this movie. As far as I can tell, these two additional episodes have not been released on Blu-ray or DVD here or in the US. For those familiar with the Ghost universe, however, they are not essential to understanding the new movie.

     I enjoyed the Ghost in the Shell: Arise OVAs with their complex, but exciting plotlines. This new Ghost in the Shell movie is complex, colourful and exciting in places but to me it feels more convoluted and lacks the intensity of the OVAs. One for the fans primarily.

     The video is excellent, the audio very good. The extras are also excellent.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall